FOR THE PARENTS

Frequently Asked Questions

What is paintball?
Paintball is America's fastest growing extreme sport. Unlike other extreme sports paintball is the only
extreme sport that gives you a high adrenaline rush without a risk of serious injury. It also does not
require extensive training and has no barriers for gender, strength, or age. The sport encourages youths and adults, and men and women to play
together on teams. It encourages social interaction between younger players and adults and promotes equality between men and women.

What should I wear?
Loose fitting, comfortable clothing is best. We
recommend long sleeves and baggie pants or jeans. Since you are on your feet a lot of the time, wearing
a good pair of shoes is important. You should wear shoes that provide ankle protection and also have decent cushioning. Please do not wear sandals and high heels for paintballing.

Is it safe?
Paintball is a very safe sport as long as safety rules
are followed. Insurance statistics have shown that paintball is safer than golf, jogging, tennis, swimming and many other sports. Referees on the field enforce safety and game rules.

What is a paintball and does it hurt when you get shot?
A paintball is a round, thin-skinned gelatin capsule with colored liquid inside it. Paintballs are similar to large round vitamin capsules or bath oil beads. The fill inside paintballs is non-toxic, non-caustic,
water-soluable and biodegradable. It rinses out of clothing and off skin with mild soap and water.
How much a paintball hurts depends on how much padding you wear. Generally though, the thrill of the game will overshadow any pain that might be felt from a hit. A player can count on leaving the field with a few welts, but they make great visual aids when recounting paintball stories to your buddies.

INTERESTING FACTS

Paintball Statistics*

Paintball is the #1 extreme sport in the United States, with 9.97 million participants.

Paintball is the fastest growing extreme sport in the United States, with a 44.0% growth from 2001 to 2006.

Paintball participants are 81.1% male.

83.2% of Paintball participants are in the 12-34 demographic.

The average age of Paintball participants is 22 years old.

61.2% of the Paintball participant household has annual income greater than $50,000 per year.

Safety*
For safety, paintball players always must wear goggles
specifically designed for paintball to protect their
eyes. Goggles must be worn during a game and at all
times when a person is in an area where shooting is
permitted, such as the target range or chronograph area.
A protective facemask is mandatory nearly everywhere,
and should be worn regardless. A barrel plug is inserted into the barrel of the marker when not in use.
Paintball is a very safe sport as long as safety rules
are followed. Insurance statistics have shown that
paintball is safer than golf, jogging, tennis, swimming and many other sports.

Referees on the field enforce safety and game rules. No
physical contact is permitted in the game, and players
are ejected from games or the play site for breaking
safety or playing rules. Fields have boundaries, and a
player who steps outside a field's boundary is eliminated from that game.

Paintball 2Xtremes MagazineIn the number of estimated
injuries per 1,000 participants, paintball had the LEAST
NUMBER OF INJURIES of all the listed sports. The number
of injuries for paintball is less by far than bowling,
tennis, archery, basketball, and many other sports.

The government report warns: "CAUTION. NEISS data and
estimates are based on injuries treated in hospital
emergency rooms that patients say are related to
products. Therefore it is incorrect, when using NEISS
data, to say the injuries were caused by the product."
That means that the paintball total injuries include all
types of injuries, and would include sprained ankles,
cuts, heat exhaustion, etc., on and off the playing
field, at organized play sites or otherwise, as well as any eye injuries. The
estimated figures are calculated using data from a
sample of hospitals in the U. S. and its territories.

What is Paintball?
In 15 short years, the sport of paintball has become
recognized as one of the world's most exciting outdoor
participation sports. Paintball is played in over 40
countries by millions of men and women of all ages and
lifestyles. Ebay reports more searches for paintball
items than for any other sports listing, with spending
on equipment and paraphernalia topping $225 Million
annually. Whether homemakers or high-school students,
professionals or Retirees; all paintball players share
in common a love for adventure and a strong competitive
spirit.

Capture the Flag
Paintball is a combination of the childhood games "tag"
and "hide & seek," but is much more challenging and
sophisticated. Although there are many different game
formats, typically a group of players will divide into
two teams to play "capture the flag." The number of
players on each team in the NPPL can vary, but there are
only 7 players allowed on each side of the field.

The object of the game is to go out and capture the
other team's flag while protecting your own. While you
are trying to capture a flag, you also try to eliminate
opposing players by tagging them with a paintball expelled from a special airgun
called a "marker." Games run a maximum of 7 minutes.

Between games, players take a break to check their
equipment, get more paintballs and have a snack or soda
while they share stories about the thrills of victory
and the usually funny agonies of defeat. Win or lose,
everyone has a good time and there's usually the next
game waiting for you.

Paintballs
A paintball is a round, thin-skinned gelatin capsule
with colored Liquid inside it. Paintballs are similar to
large round vitamin capsules or bath oil beads. The fill
inside paintballs is non-toxic, non-caustic, water-soluable and biodegradable. It rinses
out of clothing and off skin with mild soap and water
and are even edible, although we don't recommend it!

Paintballs come in a rainbow of bright colors: blue,
pink, white, orange, yellow and more. When a paintball
tags a player, the thin gelatin skin splits open, and
the liquid inside leaves a bright "paint" mark.
A player who is marked is eliminated from the game.

Markers
Paintguns, also called "markers," come in a variety of
shapes and styles. They may be powered by carbon dioxide
(CO2), nitrogen (N2) or compressed air. Many have power
systems that use large refillable cylinders called
"tanks" or "bottles" that give hundreds of shots
before needing to be refilled. Some use small 12 gram
CO2 powerlets as their power source, each powerlet being
good for 15 to 30 shots.

With pump-action markers (pump guns), each time you want
to shoot a paintball you first cock the marker by using
a pump, then you squeeze the trigger to shoot the
paintball; you must recock the marker before you can
shoot again. Stockguns, using 12-grams, have the most
basic pump gun configuration (though they are becoming
ever-more high-tech within the constraints of the
configuration) and stock gun play is in a class of its own.

With semi-automatic markers, the first time you want to
shoot you must cock the marker (usually by pulling back
a cocking knob or handle), but after you shoot the first
paintball the marker's action will recock the marker for
you; you simply squeeze the trigger each time you want
to shoot a paintball.

With a full-auto marker, when you squeeze the trigger
for the first time, the 'gun will begin to shoot
paintballs and will keep on shooting paintballs as long
as you keep squeezing the trigger; when you release the trigger, the 'gun will
stop shooting.

Markers range from simple to sophisticated, but what
they all share in common is a limitation on their power
and range. The international safety limit on the speed
(measured in feet per second, "FPS") at which a marker shoots a paintball is
300 fps. A chronograph is used to test for speed limits,
and all markers can be adjusted to shoot under the speed
limit. A marker's range is limited, too; even shooting
300 fps, at maximum elevation with barrel pointed up into the air, a marker can lob a
paintball only about 50 yards.

The Game
Paintball is a sport played by people from all
professions and Lifestyles. It is a sport where women
and men compete equally, and where age is not dominated
by youth. Like a game of chess, being able to think
quickly and decisively is what makes you a star in
paintball. Intelligence and determination, not merely
strength, speed or agility, are key to success in the
sport.

Paintball is a character-building sport. Players learn
about teamwork, gain self-confidence and develop
leadership abilities while having fun and getting
welcome stress-relief. Increasingly, corporations are finding the benefits of having their
staff and management participate in paintball games.
Paintball is an exciting sport, and above all paintball
is fun! It's a chance to shake off your day-to-day responsibilities and rekindle
your spirit of adventure. When the adrenaline starts
pumping, you can't help but love the thrill of the game!

NPPL Super 7 Scoring

A Game:

100 points Maximum - made up of

32 points for grabbing the opponent's flag first

40 points for hanging the opponent's flag first

21 points for shooting out all of the 7 opponents
( 3 points per player )

7 points for keeping all your players alive at the end of the game
( 1 point per player )

Examples:

100 points Shot all the opposition, lost no players, 1st flag grab and hung the flag

99 points as above but lost one of your own players

98 points as above but lost two players

97 points as above but lost 3 players

96 points as above but lost 4 players etc

A Best of 3 Match:

2 teams play each other for a maximum of 3 games or
until the loosing team cannot gain enough wins to equal
or better the other team.

A win is awarded if one team has more points than the
other at the end of any Game.

A draw is awarded if both teams have the same amount of
points at the end of any Game.

In the case of a draw after the 3 games have been played
both teams choose their best player to go into a one on
one sudden death shoot out.

More Information
For questions, concerns or additional information,
please contact the NPPL at (909) 230 4388.